Baltimore Sun – Baltimore native Joey Odoms, who returned this summer from duty in Afghanistan as a member of the Maryland Army National Guard, will be the next national anthem singer for the Ravens. He was selected from among eight finalists who sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before a jury last week at M&T Bank Stadium. “I’m pretty excited,” said Odoms, 25, a songwriter and former 911 operator who grew up in Reservoir Hill and did some acting on HBO’s “The Wire.”

Talk about a home run of a hire. Joey Odoms is a young man from Baltimore that served in the military, and was on “The Wire.” It doesn’t get any better than that. Even if this guy couldn’t sing a lick, I’d still be thrilled with the selection. Odoms comin!

Last February, while serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Odoms learned that Ravens coach John Harbaugh was visiting the base. Odoms, who had a dream of leading the anthem for a Ravens games one day, asked Harbaugh whom he could contact about being a guest singer. That led to Odoms making an audition tape while in Afghanistan. He later learned that he was a finalist, not for a guest slot but as the regular home game anthem singer.

How ’bout Harbaugh? Helping to push the right buttons for the Ravens from halfway across the globe. Guy can sniff out winners with the best of ’em. Here’s Odoms’ audition tape. The man definitely has a nice set of pipes.

Odoms is ready for the audience participation expected whenever the anthem is sung at sports events in town — the prolonged, Baltimore-accented “O.” “I love that,” he said. “That’s a part of the anthem for me. I always give a little pause for the ‘O.’ It will be very exciting hearing the crowd roar that back at me.

Love hearing that. There’s nothing better than belting out that “O,” and knowing that you are mere minutes away from watching the Ravens lay down another ass whipping. I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous about who was going to replace Mishael Miller. Not only did he have a great voice, but he was with the team since their first game in 1996. Ray Lewis’ dance and Mishael singing the anthem, are the first two things that I associate with the pre-game rituals inside the stadium. So while Odoms is going to have some big shoes to fill, I think that he’s more than ready to rise to the challenge. Congratulations, Joey Odoms, and God Bless the USA!